George Owings III may be the most experienced candidate for governor you’ve never heard of.
Owings, a former state delegate from Calvert County, served in the state legislature for 16 years and was even the majority whip for a decade. He then served as the state Secretary of Veterans Affairs for three years. Normally, this would make Owings a credible candidate in the Democratic primary, even with Gov. Martin O’Malley as a relatively popular incumbent.
So why is the Democratic party ignoring him? The governor he served under was Republican Robert Ehrlich, who is now waging a bid to reclaim the governor’s mansion he lost to O’Malley. Owings is essentially wearing a scarlet “R,” with Democratic leaders uniting behind O’Malley and accusing Owings of trying to damage the leading party candidate before the main event.
Owings said he’s in the race for the “right reasons” and hopes his experience and moderate politics will help him stand out. To pull off an upset, Owings will need to tap into a broad tradition of conservative Democrats, who generally hail from southern and western Maryland rather than the Baltimore-Washington corridor.
“I am center-right,” he said. “I believe more or less in a government that is effective but more streamlined.”
One emphasis in Owings’ platform is cutting down on waste in the budget. In terms of higher education, he spoke against his former boss’ tuition increases but said he didn’t think a tuition freeze was sustainable.
Owings, a Vietnam War veteran who attended this university in the 1960s before eventually earning an associate’s degree from Prince George’s Community College, worked full time while attending evening classes for much of his education. He said funding for education was more important now than ever, but that continually freezing tuition would involve increasing state spending and raising taxes.
“This does set me aside, and it’s going to rub people the wrong way, but I’m going to tell you what’s what in my opinion,” he said. “I would never have let tuition raise as much as Bob Ehrlich did. But I would not have frozen tuition either. … I would have chosen to let tuition increase, but manageably.”
But to find more funds for education, he would cut down on state government spending. The first place he would look for cuts? The legislative body he served in from 1988-2004. He listed a litany of ways to cut spending in the General Assembly, including eliminating duplicate administrative and secretary positions in the state house. He also said he would cut down on advertising for the state lottery.
“I see things like $12 to $14 million to advertise the lottery — anybody who doesn’t know we have those just got here,” he said. “To spend that kind of money advertising this seems to me to be a little overkill.”
But Democratic politicians said O’Malley has done a good job of balancing the budget throughout the fiscal crisis, cutting down while preserving the most crucial pieces of state spending. And Owings’ support for the death penalty and opposition to abortion rights and gun control may have endeared him to his Southern Maryland constituency but doesn’t play as well with the statewide Democratic party.
“He’s a delightful fellow,” said Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D-Anne Arundel and Prince George’s) of Owings, whom he served with in the House of Delegates. “But in terms of running for governor, I don’t think he’s in the mainstream of the Democratic party these days. O’Malley’s done a great job, and I can’t see why Democrats wouldn’t want to re-elect him.”
State senators also think Owings’ more conservative politics will hold him back in the Democratic primary, which they say is usually dominated by more liberal voters.
“He’s been a conservative Democrat,” said Sen. Paul Pinsky (D-Prince George’s). “Sometimes voting with Republicans, sometimes the Democrats … there’s a more liberal vote in the Democratic primary … so people in the primary will probably detract from his numbers.”
Ultimately, Pinsky said he didn’t think Owings had much name recognition or “institutional support.” Owings himself admitted most Democrats are distancing themselves from him and have endorsed O’Malley, and he said he is keenly aware of his underdog status.
“You know, in a race like this, where clearly I’m the pariah, the outcast of the party. … I don’t have any false illusions about how far this thing will go,” he said. “But I’m in it for the right reasons.”
apino at umdbk dot com
